If you've never used superfoods before, there are some fantastic general soup tips in this book: ideas for seasonings; adding acids to lift and brighten flavors; strategies for thickening or thinning soups; storage guidance, and the importance of creating an umami explosion with vegan soups.

Julie also shares her formula for composing amazing nutrient-dense and delicious soups:

But, Julie's particular specialty is incorporating superfoods into recipes. There's info on how to use super berries like camu, goji, goldenberries, and sea buckthorn berries; super roots like ginger, maca, turmeric, and yacon; and super seeds such as amaranth, chia, and hemp.

There's an easy-to-use master chart for how to cook all of the superfoods for soups, and guidance for which superfoods are suitable for hot soups, and which foods should not be heated. There's also tips for creating a superfood pantry, and tricks for shopping efficiently in order to stretch your superfood budget.

There are also recipes for accoutrements like tortilla chips, za'atar, horseradish cream, chia pesto, green harissa, coconut bacon bits, and sprouted croutons. And serving suggestions that go beyond bread like baked veggies, leafy greens, and cooked grains. There's also a superfood substitution sheet when you don't have an ingredient specified in any of the recipes.

I love this superfood spin on minestrone for spring. I particularly love the broth which is savory but also slightly sweet with an energizing boost of maca, and the veggies are strengthening and detoxifying, and the hemp parmesan is really versatile and will keep in the fridge in a sealed container for several weeks.

To make the hemp seed parmesan, add the cashews to a food processor and grind into a powder. Add the hemp seeds, nutritional yeast, sea salt, miso paste, and coconut oil, and process briefly into a paste.

Place the paste on top of a sheet of parchment paper. Mold the paste into a loose brick, wrap it tightly in the paper, and wrap again with plastic. Freeze the paste for 2 hours, or until it is firm, then move it to the refrigerator to store.

Use a cheese grater, shaver, or a thin knife to slice the parmesan into thin pieces to serve over the soup. The parmesan softens easily, so wrap it in parchment paper and place in a sealed container.

To make the broth, slice two of the onions in half and remove only the most papery skin. Slice each half into quarters, while keeping the half together as a unit. Set the cut halves aside. Chop the remaining two onions into smaller pieces and keep them on standby with the other chopped vegetables.

In a 10-quart stockpot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Carefully place the sliced onion halves, cut side down, in the oil. Cook for 10 minutes to sear and deeply brown the bottoms—don’t stir or disturb the onions while they are cooking. Add the vinegar and quickly stir together with the onions to deglaze the bottom of the pot. Add all the remaining ingredients, in the order that they are listed, and turn the heat up to bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, skimming the top as necessary to remove any foam. Set aside.

To make the soup, warm the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook for 2 minutes to soften. Add the carrots, celery, and garlic and cook for 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Stir in the potatoes and broth. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, and then cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook covered for 15–20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. Uncover the pot and stir in the peas, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup of parsley. Cook the mixture for 2 minutes longer, or until the peas are bright green and tender, and then remove from the heat. Season the soup with salt to taste.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle generously with parsley, radish slices, and some hemp seed parmesan.